Free at Last! Free at Last!

If it seems like your taxes were higher than ever this year, you're probably right. This year's Tax Freedom Day was May 5, the latest it has ever been. That means that the average American worked 125 days just to pay state, federal, and local taxes. On average, every cent we earned from January 1 to May 5 went to some level of government.

Year Tax Freedom Day
1945 April 1
1950 April 3
1955 April 9
1960 April 17
1965 April 15
1970 April 28
1975 April 28
1980 May 1
1984 April 28
1985 May 1
1986 May 2
1987 May 4
1988 May 2
1989 May 3
1990 May 5

Source: Tax Foundation